Lotro: Big Battles & Minas Tirith

So it’s decided then, that the biggest battle of our time is to be fought in Big Battle/Epic Battle format, considering it’s already on beta for testing. So be it.

Truth be told, this is old news and comes as no surprise. There was a fan forum post leak a week or so back detailing this (Now removed from the interwebs for breaking NDA at the time), but anyone with some degree of insight would have seen this coming. I know it’s only in beta and still subject to change bla bla bla, but for those still wanting raids, instances or just something new for Update 17, really, stop holding your breath.

On the up side, we finally see Minas Tirith in all its glory. I’ve been strolling around other blogs for all the beta previews of the White City, and I’d like to share them with you. Don’t click these links if you do not want visual spoilers. Lina Willow has some great screenshots of Minas Tirith and its maps up for anyone interested, so does Roger of Contains Moderate Peril. Bouncing off Roger’s preview post, I find myself agreeing very much with his observations. Minas Tirith from a distance looks great. But get inside and what you see, as previewed in some of the screenshots, is a rehash, copy paste work of Gondorian visual assets throughout. For myself at least, I think I’m going to be visually fatigued of the Minas Tirith surroundings pretty quickly, as with every other Gondorian town so far. But I won’t complain if this aspect of beautification was sacrificed to put resources into the content (big battles hahaha.) and story.

I’ve also heard the new soundtracks for the update, and while it’s no Chance Thomas, it’s decent enough – especially Minas Tirith’s town hub music. There’s a sense of pride, awe and grandeur in the soundtrack, which is great. Decent stuff.